Emys subtrijuga Schlegel & Müller, 1845:30 nomen protectum
Emys nuchalis Blyth, 1863:82
Damonia crassiceps Gray, 1870:43
Damonia oblonga Gray, 1871:367
The Mekong snail-eating turtle (Malayemys subtrijuga) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. It was monotypic within the genus Malayemys until Brophy (2004, 2005)[4] reevaluated (based on morphology) Malayemys macrocephala (Gray, 1859),[5] which has been long time considered to be a synonym of M. subtrijuga.
Distribution
The Mekong snail-eating turtle is found in the Mekong River basin of Cambodia, Laos, southern Vietnam, and Thailand and the northern Malay Peninsula, and Java, Indonesia.[4][6] It could have been introduced to Java via human intervention from the Mekong River Basin. The occurrence of the species in Indonesia is regarded by Brophy (2005) to be allochthonous, i.e., non-native (Sumatra) or extinct (Java).[4] The population of the Mekong snail-eating turtle is declining due to exploitation of the animal and their habitat.
Predators
The Mekong snail-eating turtle is usually eaten by birds, fish, and larger turtles.[7]
^Schlegel, Hermann and Müller, Salomon. (1845). Over de Schildpadden van den Indischen Archipel, beschrijving einer nieuwe soort van Sumatra. In: Temminck, C.J. (Ed.). Verhandelingen over de Natuurlijke Geschiendenis der Nederlandsche Overzeesche Bezittingen 1839–44. Part 3. Zoologie, Schildpadden. Leiden: Luchtmans and van der Hoek, pp. 29–36.
^Gray, John Edward. (1859). Description of a new species of freshwater tortoise from Siam. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1859(27):478–479.
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